ISLAMABAD: All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) has sought new power tariff structure for prime electricity users considering their specific needs and constraints after the government severed concessional tariff for the textile industry as a prior condition of still stalled ninth review of International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Prime users heavily rely on grid electricity for their production, due to unavailability of gas and other alternatives as RCET was discontinued on March 1, 2023; therefore, the only available energy for these prime users after March 1st, 2023, is grid electricity currently at over Rs. 42/kWh.
According to APTMA, while the government has taken steps to promote energy conservation and sustainability, it is important to consider the impact of these policies on the prime users, who are critical to the country’s economic growth. These users operate at low margins, and increase in electricity costs has rendered them commercially unviable. This will necessarily shift available orders to cheaper alternatives internationally and within Pakistan.
Discontinuation of concessional power tariff: APTMA urging authorities to review decision
APTMA has requested the Ministry of Energy (Power Division) to develop a new tariff structure for the prime users considering their specific needs and constraints.
“These users are critical to the supply chain of textile sector. If these units shut down, even for two months, they may never be able to reopen, leading to a permanent shortage of domestically produced yarn and other intermediate products, which would have critical impact due to non-availability of intermediate products for exports to the entire industry, as well as, increasing the forex requirements for additional imports,” said Shahid Sattar, Executive Director APTMA in a letter to Power Division.
The names of prime users of electricity (APTMA) members are (i) AA Cotton Mills Ltd; (ii) Ahmad Hassan Spinning Mills Ltd; (iii) Al Textiles Ltd; (iv) Ali Enterprises; (v) Allawasaya Spinning Mills Ltd; (vi) Asian Textile Network; (vii) Basfa Textile Mills Ltd/ (cotton based); (viii) Crescent Cotton Mills Ltd (Lahore); (ix) Din Industries Limited; (x) Escorts Advanced Textile Ltd.; (xi) Fanz Spinning Mills Ltd; (xii) Future Fashion Ltd; (xiii) Green House Ltd; (xiv) H. Sheikh Noor ud Din & Sons (Pvt.) Ltd; (xv) HAR Fibres Ltd; (xvi) Har Textile Mills Ltd; (xvii) Karem-e-Kareem Spinning Mils Ltd; (xviii) Kohinoor Spinning Mills Ltd; (xix) Maqbool Spinning Mills Ltd; (xx) Nisar Spinning Mills Ltd; (xxi) Olympia Blended Fibre Mills Ltd; (xxii) Rawal Textile Mills Ltd; (xxiii) Shadab Textile Mills Ltd; (xxiv) Shajar Pak Ltd; (xxv) Shakarganj Ltd; (xxvi) Shoaib Salman Spinning Ltd; (xxvii) Tahir Rafique Spinning Ltd; (xxviii) Tahir Rafique Textile Mills Ltd;(xxix) Tanveer Cotton Mills (Pvt) Ltd; (xxx) Tanveer Spin & Weaving Mills(Pvt.) Ltd; (xxxi) Taxila Cotton Mills Ltd; (xxxii) Taymur Spinning Ltd; (xxxiii) Z.A Corporation Ltd; xxxiv) Nagra spinning Mills Ltd.; (xxxv) Rafiq Spinning Mills and; (xxxvi) Nafeesa Textiles (Pvt.) Ltd.
The government has withdrawn concessional electricity rate of Rs 19.99/ kWh to five zero rated sectors and gas @ $ 6.5 per MMBTU to textile sector on the demand of IMF.
APTMA is of the view that textile related exports will reduce substantially owing the withdrawal of concessional electricity and gas supply.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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